Acts 29 Fellowship of the Christian and Missionary Alliance

Acts 29 has taken the men’s English as a Second Language classes in a new direction this winter by preparing the Bengali and Yemeni men for vocational training in the developing Acts 29 Wood Shop program. Getting the men out of the classroom and into hands-on work, opens up new situations for them to learn English, American culture and to build character and work ethic. The classroom context has changed as the men become involved in group projects to learn to use tape measures and basic hand-held tools. Axis Construction leaders Brad Setser and Andrew Layer are now additional teachers, using their expertise to instruct the men in proper safety measures and in the skills needed to complete carpentry work. This functions as preparation for the launch of the Wood Shop Vocational Training which will involve the Axis Leaders in teaching international men, high school students and the unemployed not only valuable job skills to produce a quality product, but also the character of Jesus Christ.
The international men enjoy the hands on training as it allows them to learn skills they can use in normal house repair and prepares them for manual labor in a number of industries. Learning team work and cooperating with a group without the use of their native language is an important ability as they enter the American workforce. Our hope is that even as we teach the basics of how to build a table or use a drill, we equip these men to live and work in this country, but beyond that, to live with the strong character that Christian values bring. Every class is intentionally designed to draw out teaching on good character, values and lifestyle in an effort to illuminate the Christian life and inspire questions as to the motivation and source for strong character which we find in Christ. Please pray for us as we prepare to transition the international men into a more intense vocational training that will put them in closer contact with us and with the saving gospel of our Lord Jesus.

AXIS’ lawn Care program worked with the Detroit Rescue Mission to provide employment and job training skills to homeless men and women. The gospel accounts were read and discussed in the truck, its principles of stewardship and integrity were lived out in the field. The heart of the MSHDA lawn care grant was to provide safe passageways for school kids and pedestrians; it had only what it believed enough money to maintain 313 lots. As stewards of resources that ultimately belong to God, and representatives of Jesus Christ we went above and beyond what was expected of us. The lawn care team was able to cut 188 lots beyond what was required of them, and removed enormous amounts of debris and litter that most contractors would have cut over or gone around.

Now that the funding for the lawn care program has ceased, pray for the eternal impact of the things that have been witnessed by neighbors, city officials, homeless, and the Detroit Rescue Mission. Admittedly, we will miss this ministry and the opportunities it offered, but we look forward to what God has in store for AXIS the future.

The Axis Cabinet Shop will operate as a commercial scale cabinetmaking shop and as a vocational, social and ethical training ground, working to build pure character in individuals and the community. The wood shop seeks to accomplish these goals by:

• Educating students into well rounded individuals, and a capable workforce.
  • Going beyond entry level employment, the wood shop teaches marketable skills, and offers students the opportunity for vocational experience.
  • The program is intended to help with basic math, motor, communication, and social skills, and bolster an understanding of basic structural principles.
• Reestablishing industrial manufacturing in the community and strengthening the local economy.

More about the Cabinet Shop:

-          The hands-on environment of a wood shop will teach marketable skills and business know-how, but will also put students in a context where the classroom knowledge of language, arts, mathematics, and physics can be applied. These skills materialize into a very real object, the result of honest and skilled work.

-          The result is a product which does not lie, the evidence of shortcuts and dishonesty are clearly visible. The shop will also be a place where rudimentary language skills can be matured with skills that are demonstrable and with objects that are tangible.

-          The controlled environment of the cabinet shop will give more flexibility to work with individuals with language barriers such as our ESL internationals, or with unskilled trainees who would benefit from repetitive type learning.

-          The character building principles which make a person healthy correlate very strongly to the structural principles which make a product robust.

-          The shop will be a support to the ministry as a consist form of revenue, running year round, and will not be restricted to daylight hours.

Interested in finding out more?

-          Join us in the shop.

How to Help:

-          Pray for the witness and ministry of the shop and its administrators.

-          Pray for the spiritual and physical health of the shop students.

-          Loan or donate money which will purchase additional machinery for the shop.

Donate to the Axis Woodshop: